A California law that will allow adults suffering from a terminal illness to have the option of medical aid in dying will go into effect this summer. Governor Jerry Brown signed thecontroversial End of Life Option Actin October after it passed through the state’s legislature.The act was given an official start date of June 9 in a special legislative session on healthcare that closed this week.

Brown explained in a signing message last fall that he reached his decision after speaking with those who supported and opposed the act, as well as trying to put himself in the shoes of people with terminal illness. “In the end, I was left to reflect on what I would want in the face of my own death,” he wrote. “I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain. I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldn’t deny that right to others.”

Aid-in-dying is currently legal in four states—Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Montana—meaning doctors there are allowed to prescribe life-ending medication to terminal patients, provided they meet certain requirements and undergo a set process to receive the medication.

Among the requirements: Patients must be an adult, be terminally ill, have a prognosis of six months or fewer to live, and be mentally able to make their own healthcare decisions. Patients who meet those requirements must verbally request the medication twice from their doctors at least 15 days apart and also submit a written request. The patient’s diagnosis must also be confirmed by another physician.

Medical aid-in-dying became part of the national conversation in 2014 when Brittany Maynard, a young woman dying of an incurable brain cancer, became a public advocate for the cause. Maynard and her family moved from her home state of California to Oregon to utilize the state’s Death with Dignity Act, which she took advantage of on November 1, 2014, at the age of 29.

Maynard’s husband, Dan Diaz, tells SELF that he’s “very relieved” that California’s new law has a date when it will be enacted. “I’m glad to hear that now terminally ill individuals beginning on June 9 and beyond will have that option of a gentle passing, should it become necessary for them,” he says.

“The other emotion that comes up would be an enormous sense of pride in my wife Brittany for the conversation that she started, and the impact that she’s having on the state of California, and really, across the country,” he adds.

Maynard advocated for legislative change in California and even recorded video testimony for the cause, knowing she wouldn’t be alive to testify in person. She isn’t the only terminally ill patient who publicly fought for medical aid-in-dying in the state. Christy O’Donnell, a California lawyer and single mom with stage 4 lung cancer, was a vocal advocate for the law until her death in February, and several others have also advocated for change in California and other states.

California’s new law is a big deal because the state is so influential for the rest of the country, says Kat West, national director of policy and programs for Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organization that promotes end-of-life choice (including access to medical aid in dying). “California really leads the country in healthcare reform,” she says. “California was the tipping point, and we expect other states to follow.”

Death-with-dignity legislation has been introduced in 25 states and the District of Columbia since Maynard’s death in November 2014.

But while death-with-dignity is still illegal in most states, public opinion is supportive of the act. According to a Medscape poll conducted in 2014, 54 percent of U.S. doctors would support a patient’s decision to end his or her life. A 2014 Harris poll also found that 74 percent of Americans believe that the terminally ill should have the choice to end their lives.

However, just because patients have the option, doesn’t mean they’ll utilize the law. Oregon released a report of data collected since 1998 (when the state’s Death with Dignity Act took effect), that shows aid in dying is not often used but provides comfort to terminally ill patients. In 2014, for example, 155 Oregon residents had prescriptions written but only 60 percent took the medication.

West’s mother, who was terminally ill and lived in Oregon, considered taking advantage of the law but ultimately decided against it. “She said ‘knowing that’s an option for me brings great comfort,’” West recalls. “A lot of her anxiety went away.”

West is hoping California’s new law will provide comfort for others like her mother and Maynard. “We know that we have a broken healthcare system when it comes to end of life,” she says. “This law gives people the options they need in order to have a peaceful death.”